A New York tech company has expanded its Fort Collins footprint, with a larger office and plans to hire more employees. Persistent Systems LLC tripled the size of its office at 5042 Technology Parkway in Fort Collins and plans to grow its employee size to at least 65 people, Adrien Robenhymer, vice president of business development, told BizWest. Persistent Systems makes technology in the mobile ad hoc networking technology space, which is also known as MANET.

The National Renewable Energy Lab, or NREL, had an economic impact of more than $1.1 billion nationwide in the fiscal year of 2017, according to a new study from the University of Colorado Leeds School of Business. The study also found that NREL had an impact on Colorado’s economy of about $748 million.

While Colorado was dealing with Wednesday’s blizzard conditions, Fort Collins’ Larry Schneider was focused on it on Tuesday. Schneider, director of operations for the street department for the city of Fort Collins, said that when a weather event comes, much of the decisions on how the roads are going to be handled are made the day before. That’s because of the technology available to help make those decisions.

A cybersecurity competition for female students is seeking registrants who can compete for scholarships. The Girls Go CyberStart challenge is open to girls in grades 9 through 12. It’s a no-cost online game of technical challenges meant to encourage young women to explore the field of cybersecurity. Registration is open until the game starts on March 20.

Techstars co-founder and co-CEO David Brown spoke to Fort Collins Startup Week attendees in a fireside chat about startups, inclusivity and social good. For Brown, startups are more a frame of mind than a strict definition.

To create an office culture that champions women in tech and a diverse workplace takes a group effort, full of speaking up and recognizing unconscious biases. The “Women in Tech/ Diversity/ Unconscious Bias” panel at Fort Collins Startup Week unpacked how people might start creating a more inclusive office. “If we want things to change, we have to take steps to change them ourselves,” said Darlene Rouleau, a software engineer at Schneider Electric.

The National Center for Atmospheric Research and the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration are have formed a partnership in an effort to better computer modeling for weather and climate forecast systems. The two organizations, which have locations in Boulder, signed a Memorandum of Agreement establishing a new state-of-the-art framework that would design common modeling infrastructure.

BROOMFIELD — Carbonite Inc. (Nasdaq: CARB) will acquire Webroot Inc. for $618.5 million. Carbonite, a Boston-based data protection provider has decided to acquire the Broomfield-based cybersecurity company in order to address a top vulnerability in business — the endpoint. The two will take a comprehensive approach to protection through cloud-based cybersecurity, backup and protection.

BOULDER — Zayo Group Holdings Inc. (NYSE: ZAYO) posted second-quarter earnings per share of 13 cents, in line with analyst expectations. The Boulder-based telecommunications company recorded net income of $30.2 million, which included $36.1 million from the Communications Infrastructure business segment but also a $5.9 million loss from the Allstream segment. Still, second-quarter income more-than doubled from the same period last year, when it was $13.2 million.

Apple has shared that it spent $60 billion on 9,000 American component manufacturers for its products, including Broadcom in Fort Collins. The company makes wireless communication hardware that enables global connectivity, Apple said in its news release. The global tech giant added that it grew its investment in American component suppliers by 10 percent and supported more than 450,000 jobs in 2018.

The Colorado Office of Economic Development & International Trade has launched Co-Invest.co, a website dedicated to helping investors find investment opportunities and vice versa. The website is in partnership with Blackstone Entrepreneurs Network and Startup Colorado. The site connects investors and Colorado projects seeking investment funding. It also serves as a clearinghouse for national investors interested in Colorado and helps organize local projects and investors.

A new program, “Sharing the NextLight” is helping low-income children have access to essential internet services. Sharing the NextLight provides a free NextLight connection to qualifying low-income Longmont families with children in the St. Vrain Valley Schools. The families would receive a free symmetrical 25-megabit connection to their home, along with a combined modem/ wireless router.

Yonomi, an IoT platform that integrates smart home devices, was recognized as the “IoT Development Tool of the Year” by the IoT Breakthrough Awards. The IoT Breakthrough Awards recognize a select list of the top IoT companies and technologies. Yonomi is among names such as Sony, GE Appliances, Dell and Samsung. The Boulder-based IoT company provides turnkey software solutions for consumer IoT devices.

Techstars is again partnering with The Nature Conservancy for the second class of the Techstars Sustainability Accelerator program. Applications are now open to entrepreneurs with commercially viable technologies to solve challenges facing nature and people.

BOULDER — A software development company is looking to close the talent gap in coding through a program to create more diverse developers. Techtonic Group Inc. is a software development firm, but over the past four years it has created an apprenticeship curriculum to train more people in coding and engineering. Unlike a boot camp, which requires students to pay around $20,000 to be trained over six months, Techtonic has developed an exclusive course where students are paid to learn.

The National Center for Women & Information Technology has received a $4.1 million grant from the Cognizant U.S. Foundation. Cognizant is a nonprofit focused on supporting STEM education and initiatives for workers and students. The grant will fund digital skills education programs and an awareness campaign to increase interest among women of all ages pursuing careers in technology.

Innosphere is seeking applicants for its first cohort of 2019. Innosphere is an incubator for high-impact science and technology companies in the startup and scaleup stages. The program focuses on ensuring that companies are investor-ready, connecting entrepreneurs to experienced mentors, making introductions to corporate partners and accelerating top-line revenue growth, among other necessary skills.

Three Colorado metro areas have been ranked in the top 25 most innovative cities in the U.S. Boulder, Fort Collins-Loveland and Greeley all made the list, compiled by 24/7 Wall St. The ranking is based on data obtained from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for the year 2015, the most recent year available. The ratings look at number of patents issued for 100,000 residents. Boulder ranks No. 4, with 260.2 patents filed per 100,000 residents in 2015.

Silicon Flatirons has announced it will start the search for a new executive director in January; its founder and current executive director Phil Weiser was elected to be the state’s attorney general. Weiser led the group, which promotes technology and innovation in Colorado, for 19 years. Silicon Flatirons’ mission has been to support entrepreneurs, elevate policy discussions and prepare students for careers in technology policy and entrepreneurship.

LogRhythm Inc., a security intelligence company, is seeing success in its latest software update which makes cutting-edge ideas in cybersecurity more accessible. The company’s latest software release, version 7.4 of its NextGen SIEM platform, makes it easier to use SOAR techniques — security orchestration, automation and response — a cybersecurity concept that first become popular about 18 months ago.